CPSC: Imported uph. would require FR test
By Gary Evans -- Furniture Today, March 24, 2008
Greensboro, N.C. — Retailers who buy upholstered furniture from abroad will be responsible for testing the products to make sure they meet a proposed U.S. flammability standard, a staff member of the federal Consumer Product Safety Commission said here last week.
"Retailers who import are (considered) the same as a manufacturer. They will have to test and maintain records," said Dale Ray, upholstery flammability product manager and a senior economist for the CPSC.
His comments were part of an annual update on an the effort to enact federal standards designed to reduce the number of deaths due to upholstery fires. The event was hosted by the American Home Furnishings Alliance and was moderated by Joe Ziolkowski, executive director of the Upholstered Furniture Action Committee.
According to Ray, overseas factories will not be responsible for meeting U.S. requirements when standards are enacted. The testing can be done overseas but the ultimate responsibility for keeping records will rest with the importer. Results would have to be in English and records must be maintained in the United States, either on paper or electronically.
The effort to enact a flammability law has been going on for years. Ziolkowski noted that last week's gathering was the 16th annual flammability workshop.
This year Ray said there was "finally some real action news" about upholstery, adding that a draft of the proposed rulemaking had been approved on Feb. 1 and was published in the Federal Register (73 Fed.Reg.11702) March 4, with both actions leading to the taking of public comments until May 19.
"It's conceivable that two years from today you might have a requirement," said Ray, although he said there's no set timetable.
The current proposal focuses on smoldering ignition and gives manufacturers two options to meet federal requirements.
One would require a smolder-resistant cover fabric. The second would be the use of an interior barrier resistant to smoldering and open flame. Ray said he thought that 80% of today's fabrics would pass the test, although some cellulosics are likely to fail while most synthetics would probably pass.
The proposed standard places no restrictions on FR (fire resistant) chemicals, which have been getting negative news coverage generated by groups that include Friends of the Earth. The group recently published a brochure entitled "Killer Couches: Protecting Infants & Children from Toxic Exposure."
Bob Luedeka, executive director of the Polyurethane Foam Assn., said "hardly a day goes by" that he's not fielding questions about chemical exposure, and said that many claims are unsubstantiated. He said such claims need rebuttal from FR producers.
David Ryan, representing the National Textile Assn. Upholstery Fabric Committee, voiced opposition to the proposed standard, noting that many small mills don't have the staff to do the testing required and that using barriers would be preferable.
Ryan, director of quality for fabric source Craftex, said his company has 10,000 fabric constructions and would have to spend $2.5 million the first year on testing. The standard would "jeopardize smaller decorative fiber mills already threatened by imports," he said.
The meeting, which drew about 150 manufacturers, suppliers, laboratory representatives and a few retailers, dealt with technical aspects of the proposed standard but had its lighter moments too.
Testing now requires that Pall Mall cigarettes be uses as an ignition device. But the market for the brand has dwindled and its maker, RJ Reynolds, is phasing them out in 2009 — which will leave testers without a source until a substitute is named.
Ziolkowski suggested that labs can do what he did recently — he ordered five cases of Pall Malls to tide him over in future UFAC testing.
